Washington in Focus

(The Center Square) – In the first Tukwila City Council meeting since an escalated protest occurred on Saturday, Mayor Thomas McLeod said the city was blindsided by strange messages related to Department of Homeland Security operations over the past weekend. According to McLeod, the city received a “cryptic and confusing message” late Friday afternoon that told individuals with pending immigration hearings to report to DHS on Saturday and Sunday to check in, with failure to report to be considered a violation. 

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(The Center Square) – After seven hours of debate and testimony, only half of Mayor Lisa Brown’s plan to overhaul Spokane’s response to homelessness passed on Monday night. Despite initially rejecting Brown’s plan to replace Proposition 1 – a camping ban that nearly 75% of voters approved in 2023 – the Spokane City Council amended a provision requiring at least a week’s notice before clearing encampments to only three days, delaying the final vote to June 30. 

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(The Center Square) – Cities across politically blue Washington state are set to participate in this weekend’s "No Kings Day" event, a series of nationwide protests and rallies against President Donald Trump's administration. The Saturday event is timed to coincide with a military parade planned in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which also falls on Trump's 79th birthday and Flag Day. The No Kings Day event, also known as the “Day of Defiance,” is being organized by grassroots political action groups, including Indivisible and the 50501 Movement, to protest the Trump administration's policies, which they describe as authoritarian. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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(The Center Square) – Health care industry leaders in Washington state are growing concerned about price controls on providers and increased taxes on physician groups and hospitals, which could lead to further increased costs and a lack of consumer access. At a June 3 meeting of the Health Care Cost Transparency Board, several industry officials made it clear that some recently passed state legislation may be undermining the board’s goal of controlling health care costs. 

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(The Center Square) - The Attorney General’s Office’s Domestic Extremism and Mass Violence Task Force has released its preliminary report on how to treat the issues from a public health perspective. However, it still faces a major challenge regarding what exactly constitutes “domestic violent extremism.” and whether the definition will be affected by the ideological views of the task force members. The preliminary report notes that “there is no universally agreed upon definition of domestic extremism (DE), and the term is undefined in the Revised Code of Washington.” 

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(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s new proposal would amend the city’s chronic nuisance properties ordinance as part of a continued effort to curb gun violence around nightclubs. Currently Seattle’s chronic nuisance properties ordinance includes activities such as gun violence, assault, drug trafficking and prostitution. A property is declared a chronic nuisance if three or more nuisance activities are documented in a 60-day period or seven or more occur in any 12-month period. 

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(The Center Square) – Spokane County Commissioner Al French said on Tuesday that his peers should consider clarifying their stance on federal immigration enforcement due to recent events. Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” online, including 35 states and the District of Columbia. Washington was one, with 36 of its 39 counties listed, with the addition of the cities of Everett, Olympia, Seattle, Tacoma and Yakima. Notably, Spokane County was included, but not the city of Spokane, which passed a resolution on Feb. 10, specifically reaffirming what many call Washington’s sanctuary state law. The county adheres to the Keep Washington Working Act, or KWWA, but hasn’t explicitly supported it like the city. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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(The Center Square) – Seattle-based private law firm Perkins Coie and Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown collaborated on an amicus brief – or “friend of the court” – filed on behalf of the firm’s lawsuit in federal court against the Trump administration, emails obtained by The Center Square reveal. Those emails also reveal the private law firm received advice from the Attorney General's Office on where and when to file the lawsuit. A former Washington GOP attorney general candidate said the revelations raise ethics concerns. 

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(The Center Square) – Spokane County Commissioner Al French said on Tuesday that his peers should consider clarifying their stance on federal immigration enforcement due to recent events. Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” online, including 35 states and the District of Columbia. Washington was one, with 36 of its 39 counties listed, with the addition of the cities of Everett, Olympia, Seattle, Tacoma and Yakima. 

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Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_5d0911f4-1222-4e11-a484-4007edcb56b6.html

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(The Center Square) – The Sound Transit Board of Directors has been criticized for a lack of transportation expertise among its members, as the agency continues to see delays to light rail expansion projects and cost overruns to major expansion projects despite massive funding. The Center Square previously reported that more than $21.8 billion in tax revenue was generated by Sound Transit between 1996 and 2023, with $10.3 billion raised between 2019 an 2023 alone. Despite this, the delays to the agency’s taxpayer-backed projects have continued, including the last two stations on the 2 line connecting across Lake Washington, which had their target opening of December 2025 moved to early 2026. 

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